A feud between two rival gangs — the Black Point Mafia and Hancock Kings — led to “a ton of shootings” about two years ago in Sandusky, police Chief John Orzech said.

Last year, numerous gang members were convicted on various charges, including participating in a criminal gang, effectively taking gangs off the police department’s watch list for the first time in more than a decade, the chief said.

Sandusky’s gangs — there were only really a few, the chief said — were not much different than Toledo’s and gangs in other cities around the state.

The National Gang Center reported that, in 2011, an estimated 29,900 gangs existed in the United States, fewer than the 30,800 in 1996.

Many are loosely organized, identifying themselves by streets or neighborhoods.